


Kind Of

by ElectraCute



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Coming Out, F/F, Gay Emily Prentiss, Gen, Lesbian Emily Prentiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectraCute/pseuds/ElectraCute
Summary: Oneshot set in an AU where Emily ended up adopting Carrie from S03E04. Oh, and she’s gay.
Relationships: Emily Prentiss & Carrie Ortiz, Emily Prentiss/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	Kind Of

**Author's Note:**

> I started rewatching Criminal Minds recently - as a show I used to watch when life was simpler, it gives me a type of comfort in this crazy unstable world. A lot has changed since then, but not my unending love for Emily Prentiss. Now that I know her story, I was able to see S03E04 under a different light. I’m hoping to capture that in this fic.
> 
> P.S.: For me, Emily is gay. I don’t care what actually happened in the show, there’s no heterosexual explanation for Emily Prentiss.
> 
> That’s all, please enjoy!

Emily twirls the wine in her glass again and again, never taking a sip. She watches the tiny bubbles fizz out as if it’s the most fascinating thing in the world.

“You didn’t like the wine?” asks the red-haired woman sitting across the table. “We can get a different drink.”

“No, Jamie, thank you, the wine is perfect.” She puts the glass down and her hand travels to rest on Jamie’s. “Everything is perfect, really. I hate to think I could ruin it.”

Jamie takes Emily’s trembling hand. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve been seeing each other for what, two months now?”

“Two wonderful months.”

Emily cracks a bit of a smile. “I agree. But I’ve been keeping something from you, and if we’re gonna keep doing this I think you deserve to know.”

Jamie’s face darkens. “What is it?”

“You know how we always end up at your place?”

“Well, it’s usually convenient.”

“But that’s not the reason. I don’t bring you home because I… I have a daughter.”

Jamie lets out a relieved sigh. “Is that it? I thought you were dying, Emily!”

She chuckles. “I’m sorry I scared you. But I haven’t been upfront about this and I felt really bad.”

“There’s no reason to feel bad, I understand why you’d be reluctant to reveal something like this to someone you just met. I’m glad to have earned your trust.”

Emily squeezes Jamie’s hand in appreciation.

“So how old is she? Your daughter?”

“She’s turning seventeen next month.”

“Oh!” exclaims Jamie, a bit taken aback. There’s a momentary pause as she does the math in her head. “So you were pretty young when you had her.”

“Well, kind of.”

“Kind of?”

“Carrie is adopted. She was involved in a case I worked a couple years back. Her family was murdered and I didn’t want social services to take her, so I decided to adopt her.”

“Oh, I see.” Jamie is still thinking. “So what did you mean,  _ kind of _ ?”

“I did get pregnant pretty young.” Emily lowers her eyes - she did not mean to blurt this out.

“You did?”

“Yeah… When I was sixteen.”

“What happened?”

“I could have had the baby. I mean yeah, it would have been hard but by no means impossible. However, I was led to believe that ending the pregnancy was my best option.”

Jamie moves her chair closer. With a gentle caress, she tries to drive away the shadows from Emily’s face. “Do you regret it?”

“Yes.” Her eyes dampen, her lip trembles only very slightly. “You know what my first thought was when I met Carrie?”

“What?”

“She’s the same age as my baby would’ve been. Isn’t it odd? We work with children often, yet this was the first time such a thought passed through my mind.”

“Maybe you and Carrie were meant to find each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“You lost a child, she lost a family. I don’t believe in fate, but it seems to me like you came together to ease the pain.”

Emily smiles. “I like that. Thank you.”

They stay in silence for a few moments.

“I’d like to meet her,” says Jamie all of a sudden.

Emily shifts in discomfort. “You would?”

“Yeah… if that’s okay with you, of course.”

“No, it’s alright, I just… Carrie doesn’t know.”

“About me?”

“About…  _ me _ .”

“Oh.”

Emily takes a deep breath. “It never came up, you know? I never got a chance to sit her down and tell her, you know what Carrie, I’m  _ gay _ . How would I even go about it? What if it shakes her trust in me? What if she doesn’t like me anymore after she finds out?”

“Emily, slow down. Look at me.”

She turns her face, pale as a ghost. “I just don’t wanna lose her.”

Jamie’s hand gently squeezes Emily’s knee below the table. “I know.”

“Everyone keeps saying  _ oh Emily, you were so good to take her in, _ but really it’s the other way round;  _ Carrie  _ is good for  _ me _ . She keeps me company, keeps me grounded. She gives my life some sense of purpose. And after a hard day on the job, going home to her is like a warm light.”

“So you feel like coming out to her would jeopardize what you have.”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Let me ask you this; if Carrie were to come to you tomorrow and confess something crazy - I don’t know, that she wants to move to New Zealand, or join Scientology - would you reject her?”

“What? Of course not. I’d be surprised, sure, and I’d try to make sense of it, but it wouldn’t change our relationship.”

“Then why do you imagine she’d hold you to a different standard?”

Emily sighs. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just not very easy.”

“Since when do you care about what’s easy?”

She smiles. “Thanks, Jamie. I’ll talk to Carrie. If everything goes as planned, we could have dinner together next week. Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely. And Emily?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s gonna be okay.”

Emily nods. She can finally bring herself to believe that.

****

“What are you doing up so late?”

Carrie is curled up on the couch with a bowl of cereal.

“Come on, it’s Friday night. I’m just watching  _ Friends _ reruns.”

Emily sits beside her, throwing her bag to the floor and kicking off her shoes. They watch absentmindedly for a while before Emily grabs the remote.

“Do you mind if I turn it off? I wanna talk to you.”

Carrie turns to her. “Sure. What’s up?”

She sits up straight and looks into the girl’s eyes. “You know how I’ve been going out a lot lately?”

Carrie smiles cheekily. “You’re dating someone. It’s okay, I figured it out.”

“Oh. Well, that’s out of the way then.”

“Can I ask what his name is?”

“Yeah, about that… It’s not a he. It’s… a she.”

Carrie raises her eyebrows in surprise.

“I haven’t got a chance to tell you. No, scratch that. I didn’t  _ want _ to tell you. I’ve been scared of what you might think of me. But you’d find out sooner or later, I guess.” She breathes in, then out. “I’m gay, and I’m proud of it. It took me a long time to understand it, to accept it, to live comfortably with it. But I like myself just the way I am. I hope you’ll like me too, now that you know.”

Carrie leaves the cereal bowl on the coffee table.

“Emily, you saved my life.”

“What? No, I didn’t.” That man let her go. Emily had nothing to do with it.

“I don’t mean that night. I mean every night and every day after that. You’ve been there for me like no one else has. You owed me nothing, and yet you took care of me as if I were your own daughter. To me, you’re a hero. You know that, right?”

Emily smiles. “No, I didn’t know that.”

“Well, it’s true. After what happened, you’ve been the source of everything that’s good in my life. All I want is for you to be happy. And if this woman makes you happy, I couldn’t care less that she’s a woman. So I guess my question is; does she make you happy?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“That does it, then. And will you tell me her name now?”

Emily laughs. “Sure. It’s Jamie.”

“Cool. Can I meet her?”

“Yeah, she wants to meet you too. I thought we could have dinner together next Friday.”

“That sounds great. I can’t wait.”

Emily hugs the girl and kisses her forehead. “Thank you, Carrie.”

And they stay in the embrace for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this little story! I would be over the moon if you could leave me some kudos or even better, a comment!


End file.
